KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 30

Newly appointed Ambassador of Germany to Nepal Dr Thomas Prinz presented his credentials to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari today at Shital Niwas.

After presenting his credentials, Ambassador Prinz and President Bhandari discussed bilateral relations and the outcome of the German parliamentary elections, according to a press release issued by the German Embassy.

'President Bhandari mentioned the important role of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in international politics and expressed her hope for the continued support of the German government in the development of Nepal,' Ambassador Prinz said.

Germany and Nepal have maintained friendly and close relationship for over six decades. Germany has pledged EUR 34.4 million for Technical Cooperation and for Financial Cooperation until the year 2023 and 2025 respectively in the thematic areas of Health, Sustainable Economic Development and Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy.

In times of COVID-19, Germany supported the people of Nepal in tackling the crisis. It provided medical supplies such as ventilators, isolation tents, KN95 masks, pulse oxymeters, surgical masks, disinfectants, among other items through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Also, additional funding of almost EUR 11 million was provided from the Emergency COVID-19 Support Programme of the German Government to increase and strengthen the resilience of Nepal's health sector so as to combat the pandemic and mitigate social and economic impacts, according to the release.

Ambassador Prinz said he was committed to ensuring that the positive trajectory of bilateral relations between Nepal and Germany would remain intact and flourish further during his tenure. A version of this article appears in the print on October 1, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.